Contrary to face-saving claims, it appears that the US and Israel were both caught off guard by Iran's announcement. The reasoning is simple.
Had the US or Israel announced the existence of he new facility before Iran's notified the IAEA, it would have put Iran on the defensive. As it is
now, the US and Israel seem to be playing catch up, casting doubt on the veracity of Israel's claims to "know" that Iran is a nuclear threat.

The United Nations has just released the Goldstone Report, a scathing report which accuses Israel of 37 specific war crimes and crimes against
humanity in Gaza earlier this year. Israel has denounced the report as "Anti-Semitic (even though Judge Goldstone is himself Jewish), and the
United States will block the report from being referred to the War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague, thereby making the US Government an accessory
after-the-fact.

We all need to be Joe Wilson right now. We need to stand up and scream, "LIAR!" at every politician and every talking media moron that is pushing
this war in Iran. And we need to keep dong it until they get the message that we will not be deceived any more.
Israel wants to send your kids off to die in Iran, and YOU are the only one that can stop
them.

Although I don't believe in a Zionist Conspiracy, nor do I believe that the MSM is in Israel's back-pocket (I think American Jews are probably the
most outspoken opponents of Israel's policies, IMHO), I'm not a big fan of Israel's policies either.

And the OP is absolutely correct on both Iran's willingness to submit to International Treaty and Inspection while Israel refuses.

What many people don't realize is that Israel has a larger nuclear arsenal than the United States, the Russian Commonwealth of States, and China
combined!

Not only do they have more nukes than anyone else, but their arsenal is about 30-40 years more recent than our own!

Next to Pakistan and India, Israel is the next largest threat of Global Thermonuclear War...but only because Pakistan and India have been looking for
any excuse to fire theirs at each other for the past couple of years.

For too long the International Community has allowed Israel to proliferate itself with nuclear weapons without adhering to International Treaty. For
the sake of everyone on this planet, we need to stop giving them preferential treatment that we don't let anyone else have, and make them abide by
the same rules that everyone else plays by.

In the very least, it would be a travesty if we continued to allow them to break the rules yet go after those countries that abide by the rules (just
like we did with Iraq).

We often wonder why the United States has lost its credibility with the International Community, but making hypocritical decisions like this in our
desire to wage war and police the planet is the precise reason why.

Leave Iran alone, and push Israel to adhere to the same International Standards that Iran and everyone else in the world with nuclear capabilities
must abide. If Israel refuses, then let them sleep in the bed they made all by themselves. If you keep protecting a bully from the ones they bully,
you will become no better than the bully themselves. It's simple Grade School Social Skills that apparently our Government Leaders failed to learn
when they were left behind as children.

Not to mention the illegality [against Article 12(c) of the IAEA Statute] of the IAEA sending Iran's dossiers to the united nations .

While preaching that Iran does not need nuclear energy because it has vast oil and natural gas reserves, the U.S. has made every effort to prevent
foreign companies from investing in Iran's oil and gas industry and helping Iran develop its untapped natural gas reservoirs. The U.S. also prevented
the transportation of Azerbaijan's oil by a pipeline through Iran and instead pushed for a purely political pipeline through Georgia and Turkey.

Whereas, according to every report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has abided by its obligations under the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty and its Safeguards Agreement, the U.S. has repeatedly, and without presenting any credible evidence, accused Iran of having a
secret nuclear weapons program, even though its own latest National Intelligence Estimate from November 2007 stated that Iran stopped its weapons
program in 2003 (and there is actually no evidence that Iran had such a program even prior to 2003). In violation of the IAEA Statute, the U.S. forced
its Board of Governors to demand the suspension of Iran's legal uranium enrichment program. The Board of the IAEA has no legal authority to make such
a demand.

Such baseless accusations, together with the U.S. blackmail of some members of the IAEA Board, were the primary reasons for sending Iran's nuclear
dossier to the UN Security Council (UNSC). But, this was illegal, because it was against Article 12(c) of the IAEA Statute, which clearly states the
conditions under which a member state's nuclear dossier should be sent to the UNSC. As Michael Spies of the International Association of Lawyers
Against Nuclear Arms has explained [.pdf]:

"Verification and enforcement of the non-proliferation objectives contained in the NPT are limited, in part to maintain the balance of rights and
obligations of state parties. NPT Safeguards, administered by the IAEA, are limited to verifying that no nuclear material in each non-weapon state has
been diverted to weapons or unknown use. These safeguards allow for the IAEA to report a case of non-compliance to the Security Council only if
nuclear material is found to have been diverted."

According to every report of the IAEA, such a diversion has never occurred in Iran's case. As a result, even the legality of the three UNSC
resolutions against Iran is in doubt, because they are based on the illegal actions of the IAEA Board. Regardless, not only has the U.S. pressured
others to enforce the resolutions, it has also imposed unilateral sanctions and blackmailed others to do the same. Moreover, the U.S. has opposed
Iran's membership in the World Trade Organization, hence preventing integration of its economy with the rest of the world.

Iran provided crucial help to the U.S. to overthrow the Taliban in Afghanistan, but the Bush administration rewarded it by making Iran a member of the
"axis of evil." The Shi'ite groups that spent their exile years in Iran, and were supported and funded by it, are now in power in Iraq and are
considered allies of the U.S. But, instead of recognizing and appreciating this fact, the U.S. has accused Iran of aiding "special groups" in Iraq,
meaning extremists and radicals. And in a show of force, in addition to surrounding Iran with the U.S. forces on three sides, the Bush administration
dispatched two carrier battle groups to the Persian Gulf in May 2007. Dick Cheney used the deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis to
threaten Iran: "We'll stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region. We'll stand with our friends in
opposing extremism and strategic threats."

The U.S. has also pushed for the formation of regional alliances against Iran, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council, and has sold tens billions of
dollars' worth of weapons to the Council's members, weapons that they neither have the capability nor the need to ever use.

And that very act of illegality by the IAEA is the very reason Iran stated in MAR 2007 it would no longer voluntarily abide by the modified Code 3.1
and reverted to the original Code 3.1 (that required 180 days notification). So, there is no issue of a lack of transparency . The IAEA acted
illegally and Iran, rightfully withdrew from it's voluntary agreement , the nonsense of the US pretending Iran have deliberately hidden this facility
based on the provision of modified code 3.1 is an outright lie. They and the IAEA know very well why that was rescinded by Iran in 2007 , because of
the US and the IAEA's very own illegal transgressions.

The fact remains that Israel does have nukes and that they don't play by the same rules they expect and demand everyone else play by [as
outlined in the Op]. Israel commits war crimes and crimes against humanity just for starters. Whenever they're called to answer for their evil, they
scream Anti-Semitism.

Israel does not have more nukes than US and Russia combined (50 to 80 thousand)

You have not facts and just present your unsupported opinion (which you are allowed) as facts.

50,000 - 80,000 in the US & Russia combined?

The United States only has currently 5,535 Nuclear Warheads...only 4,075 of which are "active". The Russian Commonwealth currently has 6,681 Nuclear
Warheads...only 3,322 of which are "active". China has 410 Nuclear Warheads currently, all of which are "active". That's a far cry from 50,000 to
80,000 you quoted.

Although you were incorrect in your figures as well, you are absolutely correct that particular statement I made was incorrect. Teaches me for quoting
something from memory instead of looking it up first.

Israel is suspected to have anywhere from 80-400 "active" Nuclear Warheads. This estimate is based on surveillance since the Israeli government
refuses to comment on the actual number. The Israelis clearly have a sizable nuclear arsenal. However, the total amount of Warheads they have may be
significantly larger than those estimates. It is believed that Israel might not keep their Nuclear Warheads fully assembled -- keeping them "a screw
away" from completion to abide by the only Nuclear Proliferation Treaty they have ever agreed to.

So, I was wrong on that one point. My apologies. However, next time you might want to check your own facts before calling another out on having
incorrect data.

That number is off (but so are yours on US/Russian nukes), but even so, why is it that we are demanding of Iran what we can't even expect out of
Israel?

Thanks OP for posting, S&F.

And on a side note, using 50 emoticons in a single post does nothing for an argument except make it appear childish and lacking of any ability to
produce quality content, not to mention it shows a large amount of inconsideration for those that may have slower connection speeds and are forced to
wait for all of those to load.

As an ATS Staff Member, I will not moderate in threads such as this where I have participated as a member.

That number is off (but so are yours on US/Russian nukes), but even so, why is it that we are demanding of Iran what we can't even expect out of
Israel?

Thanks OP for posting, S&F.

And on a side note, using 50 emoticons in a single post does nothing for an argument except make it appear childish and lacking of any ability to
produce quality content, not to mention it shows a large amount of inconsideration for those that may have slower connection speeds and are forced to
wait for all of those to load.

Well, niteboy, it seems your ability to count is similar to that posters reference.

If you really need to be embarrassed, I can count them, and post the number, as you did not or are intentionally not telling the truth.

Dont be silly. If any Arabic country attacked not only Israel but any other country with nukes . they would basicly paint red bullseye on thier whole
country. Do You think Iran as a whole country is like suicidal?

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